A Love Worth Waiting For
by un1uckyst4r
Summary: Alan finally finds the love of his life, with the help of some quirky turns from the rest of the team.
1. Default Chapter

**_Author's Note:_** _Hey everyone, this is my first RTT fic, and my first fic in an _incredibly_ long time, so please R+R, and be nice._

Thanks to Jel and Kora for writing amazing stories and prompting the rest of us slackers to pick up the pace. =þ

_And yeah, the disclaimer: 'Remember the Titans' is not mine, it's Disney's. Ryan Gosling is not mine, he's Jel's, and she's right, the rest of us only have clones. Kip Pardue _could_ be mine, but I'm still not sure. For now he is, but I'll gladly share. Gabrielle, Tina, Mr. Collins, and any other characters that don't sound familiar _are _mine. And finally, a certain short, brown-eyed, basketball-playing pianist/computer geek is _definitely _mine without a doubt, so back off!!!_

A Love Worth Waiting For 

****

            Alan slumped against the wall in his room and sulked. Life was just not fair. He had enough to deal with, what with his less-than-stellar performance on the football field and his father's persistent nagging, both of which went hand-in-hand. It didn't help that Alan was small, skinny, somewhat slow, and not as good as everyone else, but was that his fault? And he didn't know what was worse; the fact that his father picked on him constantly, especially since he wasn't even starting anymore, or the fact that his father blamed it all on Coach Boone. If it was anyone's fault, it was definitely was _not_ Coach Boone's. Alan picked up the football lying beside him and threw it into the air. Football was the least of his problems right now…

            He just couldn't understand it. Gerry had Emma, Julius had his girl Tina, Rev and Blue could serenade girls into submission. Petey could jump from one woman to the next without the least bit of hesitation, and Ronnie, Mr. California Heartthrob, had more female admirers than he knew what to do with. Hell, Louie Lastik would probably get hooked up faster than Alan did. He had a fleeting vision of Lastik with an equally hefty girl on his arm and abruptly began to laugh. _Okay,_ he thought, _I take that back… I _really_ didn't need to see that…_

            Alan got up and looked at himself in the mirror. A thin, pale boy with bright blue eyes and golden hair in desperate need of a trim stared back at him. He tried to square his shoulders, make himself look tougher like Gerry or Julius, fun-loving like Rev or Petey, sweet and sensitive like Sunshine. But that pale, boyish face kept peering back at him. Alan sighed in defeat. _Why did I have to come up at the shallow end of the gene pool?_

            " Alan! "  Ronnie yelled, catching sight of him running at full speed towards the school. " Hurry up, man, you're gonna be late! "

            " Yeah, hence the running, " Alan replied breathlessly as he sped through the doors and made his way to his locker, fumbling clumsily with the lock as he glanced at his watch. He cursed when he saw that it had stopped, then continued grabbing his books and shoving them mercilessly into his bag. At the sound of the bell, Alan cursed again and made a mad dash for class. _If I'm late for math again,_ he thought,_ Mr. Collins is definitely going to give it to me, I'm sure of it. I'm not sure who's scarier, Collins or Coach Boone… no wait, stupid comparison, never mind…_

            Alan turned a corner and ran right into someone, sending them both falling to the floor in a flurry of paper. _Great, exactly what I need right now,_ he thought as he tried to pull himself up off the floor. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the pair of blue eyes staring at him. And the face that went along with them.

            A girl in a white sweater and navy blue skirt was on her knees about a foot away from where Alan was sitting. Her long straight hair, so blonde that it was almost white, was slightly tousled from the collision, and her ruby lips were set in a soft 'O' of surprise. Her skin was slightly flushed, and her eyes – large, cornflower-blue eyes – bored holes right into him. The moment lasted for a second, maybe two or three at the most, but it could have lasted forever for all Alan card. _Sweet Jesus, but she's beautiful…_

            Her voice, soft and sweet, broke the silence. " I'm so sorry! Are you okay? "

            " Just peachy, " Alan answered dazedly. Then he stopped. Why wasn't _he_ asking _her _if she was okay? " Actually, I should be asking _you_ if you're alright, " he added quickly. " After all, I'm the one who knocked you over. "

            The girl smiled, and Alan forgot to breathe. " I'm fine, thank you. "

            They spent a few minutes gathering all the papers off the floor, then with a smile and a wave the girl was off. Alan waved back, then pulled a little blue day planner out of his pocket. Gabrielle Stevenson, the cover read in beautiful flowing handwriting. Alan smiled dazedly. He _had_ to find her, he just _had_ to.

            A second bell, signaling the beginning of classes, roused Alan from his daydream. He was definitely late for math now, but he couldn't care less. He practically danced the rest of the way to class, he was so happy. All that mattered was seeing that angel again.

            " You're late, Mr. Bosley. _Again._ For the fifth time this month. " Mr. Collins, gaunt and fearsome, towered over Alan's desk. It was all the boy could do not to start cowering under the man's shadow.

Instead, Alan merely grinned a bit. What was his scary old math teacher in the face of true love? " I'm sorry, sir. It won't happen again. I had a bit of an accident on the way to class – "

" I won't have any more of your excuses, Alan. You'll see me after class – "

A soft, sweet voice cut Mr. Collins off in mid-sentence. " Um, sir? "

" What is it, Gabrielle? "

Both men turned around to see the girl in the hallway with her hand in the air. " Alan really _did_ have an accident in the hallway, " she explained. " I knocked him over by accident, and if he hadn't stayed to help me pick up my books we _both_ would have been late. "

The math teacher scowled at the girl, then turned his frowning face back to Alan. " I'll let you off this time. But one more late and I swear I'll have you down in the principal's office faster than… "

But Alan had already tuned him out. That girl saved him. She really _was_ an angel…

" … do I make myself perfectly clear, Mr. Bosley? " Mr. Collins bellowed.

Alan grinned again. " Yes, sir. "

" Alan, you had that grin fixed to your face all morning, " Petey noted on the way to the cafeteria. " Now I reckon something's up, and now you're gonna tell me exactly what it is. "

" I just met an angel, Petey, " Alan replied, grinning dazedly.

Petey laughed. " That's real funny Alan. Coach Boone's been runnin' your John Brown hind parts so hard it's startin' to affect your head. Now seriously, man, what's up? "

" I am completely serious, " Alan insisted, digging heartily into a dish of unidentifiable mush disguised as macaroni and cheese, ignoring the fact that it neither looked nor tasted anything remotely like macaroni and cheese. " She's sweet, intelligent, and beautiful. "

" And she's _not_ mine? " Petey asked incredulously. " So tell me, how'd you and your 'angel' meet? "

Alan recounted the story of how he and Gabrielle knocked each other over in the hall, and Petey nodded. " Interesting. Really. " Abruptly he stood up, nearly knocking the table over. " Gerry! Sunshine! Julius! " he yelled to the other side of the cafeteria. " Our boy over here got a – "

" Shut up, Petey! " Alan hissed.

" Shut up, Petey! " Gerry, Ronnie, and Julius chorused from the other side of the room.

" I don't want you to say anything, okay? " Alan continued, returning to his food. " The last thing I need right now is people nosing into my love life. " He downed a forkful of orangey goo and gagged, hastily spitting it out. " Eww! What the heck have I been eating? "

" Gabrielle! " Alan yelled down the hall. " Hey, Gabrielle! Wait up! "

Gabrielle turned around and flashed a smile. " Alan Bosley, right? "

" Yeah. We're in the same math class. "

" Hi. You know, I was just thinking about you. "

_She was thinking about me?!_ Alan reddened. " Uh, yeah. Listen, I forgot to give you something back when I hit you in the hall earlier. "

Gabrielle's friends began giggling insanely, and Alan blushed even more as he dug through his pocket. " You dropped this, " he said, handing Gabrielle the little blue day planner.

The crowd of girls giggled even more, and this time it was Gabrielle's turn to blush. " Wow, thank you. I've been going crazy looking for this all day. "

Alan grinned. " You're welcome. "

There was a moment of awkward silence, then Gabrielle spoke. " Well, I guess I'll be going, " she said shyly.

" Um, yeah. "

" See you tomorrow, Alan. " Gabrielle smiled again, then turned and walked off with her friends, who were still giggling. Alan shook his head. _Giggling should be outlawed,_ he thought as he listened to the girls tittering down the hall.

From a safe distance away, Petey, Blue, Rev, and Ronnie peered around the lockers at Alan. " I stand corrected, " Ronnie muttered in disbelief. " You _weren't_ lying. "

" I _told_ ya! " Petey yelled, and immediately Blue and Rev smothered him.

" You shut your mouth, boy! " Blue chastised. Then he grinned. " You don't want ol' Casanova down there to hear you, now, do you? "

" He ain't gonna hear me! " Petey continued, louder still. " He's too hung up on Goldilocks down there – "

" I thought _I_ was Goldilocks, " Ronnie cut in, smirking.

" Nah, the name don't fit you no more, " Rev said with a smile. He looked back at where Alan and the other girl were standing and talking. " Alan sure has got good taste though. "

            " Alan! " Gerry ran up to Alan just as he was taking off his helmet and ruffled his golden hair. " Way to go, man! "

            Alan grinned a bit, remembering that he'd made a particularly good hit on someone during practice. " Hey, it was just a tackle. Nothing special. "

            Gerry laughed and shook his head. " Man, you know what I'm talkin' about. " With that and another hard pat on the back Gerry was off, leaving Alan completely confused. _No, Gerry,_ he thought, _I _don't_ know what you're talking about._

            He got even more of it when he walked into the locker room. The whole room erupted into cheering and hollering, slapping Alan on the back, and the strangest thing was that Alan didn't have the slightest idea why. But when he took one look at Petey, it dawned on him. " Petey… you didn't… did you? "

            " Alan, I don't know what you're talking about, " Petey replied, feigning innocence.

            Alan sighed. " Petey, I _told_ you not to say anything! "

            " Hey, I didn't say I _told_ no one, " Petey retorted, refusing point-blank to look Alan in the eye. " You know, it just… slipped out. "

            " Petey, if you weren't completely capable of kicking my butt, I would kill you right now. " Alan shook his head and took a few deep breaths. " Okay, I guess it's not _that _bad. But this is _not_ leaving the locker room. You understand? "

            " Cross my heart an' hope to die - "

            " Great. " With that, Alan left the room.

            " – well, sort of, " Petey finished.

            " Hi, Alan. "

            Alan gave a little jump and whipped around to see Gabrielle in all her glory smiling at him. " How'd you know where my locker was? " he asked.

            Gabrielle shyly twisted her white-blonde hair around her fingers. " Oh, just a lucky guess. I saw you standing here and I figured I should go say hi. "

            Alan smiled. " Oh. Well, hi. "

            " Did you finish all the math homework? " Gabrielle asked. " I mean, I know you had football practice and all yesterday so I though maybe – "

            " How'd you know I had football practice? " Alan cut in, surprised.

            " Oh – the field's on my way home, " Gabrielle admitted bashfully. " I saw you guys playing… you're number 48, right? Linebacker? Yeah, I saw you, " she added as Alan nodded, shocked.

            _She's beautiful, smart, _and_ she knows her football,_ Alan thought dazedly. _Sweet Jesus, but she's perfect!_ " Um… yeah. And yeah, I finished the math homework. "

            " Thank goodness, that's wonderful. I couldn't get question 23, do you think you could help me with it? "

            " But – but I don't sit anywhere near you, " Alan protested feebly. _What a pathetic excuse,_ he yelled at himself.

            Gabrielle stared right at Alan, who found himself completely unable to look away. " Please? " she pleaded sweetly. 

            Alan sighed. No way in hell was he going to say no to her. " Okay, sure. But if Mr. Collins finds out we're not sitting in the right seats – "

            " Oh Alan, he's not going to care – "

            " – already hates me for being late every day – "

            " – I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I said you were helping me – "

            " – I think you're the only person in class that man doesn't hate – "

            Gabrielle burst out laughing at that comment. Alan liked her laugh; it was light and bubbly and from the heart, not fake and plastic. " What's so funny? " Alan demanded.

            " It's just that… you make him sound so _evil_! " Gabrielle exclaimed.

            Alan shrugged. " Yeah, well he is. "

            " Yes, I know, but it's so funny when you do it. It's adorable. "

            Alan reddened. He'd never – never in his lifetime – been complimented by a girl. Well, maybe once or twice, after a football game, but that didn't count. And never had any girl called him adorable. " I – I like your laugh, " he stuttered, and Gabrielle just flashed one of those beautifully sweet smiles. Alan couldn't have felt any more stupid.

            " He's so adorable! "

            " Gosh, he's such a hottie… look at that hair… and those beautiful eyes… "

            " He's in my first period class. "

            " Ahh! You're so lucky!! "

            " Excuse me, ladies, " Alan mumbled as he pushed his way through the crowd of girls clustered around the window facing out into the schoolyard, where there was a clear view of Ronnie doing his daily tai chi exercises. Alan banged against the window, catching Ronnie's attention. Then he ran outside to meet Ronnie at the school doors. " What's up, man? " Ronnie asked, seeing the panicked look on Alan's face.

            " I… I… I have no idea, " Alan stuttered. " It's – it's hard to explain - "

            " Gabrielle Stevenson? " Ronnie said with an amused grin.

            Alan turned beet red. " Yes – no – man, Sunshine, I must sound like a real idiot right now – "

            " No you don't. Let me guess, you like her - "

            " Understatement of the year, " Alan muttered.

            " – and you don't know what to do, " Ronnie finished. " The age-old love problem. Well, tell her. "

            " Have you plumb lost your mind?! " Alan exclaimed. " I can't _tell_ her! We've only known each other for what, two days? That would be insane! "

            " Whoa, calm down man, " Ronnie cut in. " I didn't mean _now_, I meant _eventually._ "

            " But _how_?! "

            " I dunno, " Ronnie answered after a few minutes of thought. " I can't tell you that one. Just use some of that natural Alan Bosley charm. "

            The bell rang, and Ronnie looked towards the school. " Shoot, I've got English Lit. next and it's on the other side of the school. See ya later, Alan. "

            " What – what natural Alan Bosley charm? " Alan called after him.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Author's Note: _**_The disclaimer's in the first chapter._

            " All right, good practice boys, " Herman Boone called out at the team. " We'll see y'all tomorrow, three o'clock sharp! Alan, if you're late tomorrow I'll make you run two miles, " he added as Alan passed him, but he gave him a good-natured pat on the back.

            Alan nodded in reply, then headed off to the locker rooms. He came out a short while later, and as he walked out of the stadium, his head turned behind him as he waved goodbye to Petey and some other people, he ran straight into someone and almost fell to the ground. He looked up to see Gabrielle smiling at him. " You sure have a bad habit of running into people, " she said teasingly. " Specifically me. "

            She gave him her hand to pull him off the ground, and Alan took it, stunned by how soft it was and how perfectly it fit into his own. He stood up, his eyes not leaving hers for a moment. _So this is what heaven feels like…_

            " Did you just get out of practice? " Gabrielle asked.

            Alan snapped back into reality, abruptly letting go of Gabrielle's hand. _Goodbye, heaven, goodbye…_ " Yeah, just now. What are you doing here? "

            " I was on my way home, and I saw you guys just finishing up so I decided to say hello. "

            " Oh, okay. " Alan shuffled his feet awkwardly. " Well, hello. "

            " Hi. "

            They stood in silence for a while, then Alan eyed the open carry bag of footballs sitting in the locker room. " Hey, do you play football? " he asked, a bit unsurely.

            " A little, " Gabrielle answered. " When I was younger I played a bit with my brothers. I'm not that good though, I could never catch properly. "

            Alan smiled, grabbed a football from the carry bag, and took Gabrielle's hand. " Maybe it's all a matter of who's throwing it. "

            Herman Boone came out of the locker room, dragging the large bag of footballs behind him. He was almost out the door when the sound of laughter reached his ears from the other end of the hallway. He checked his watch and saw that it was nearly an hour after practice. _Who in the name of Sam Hill was still here?_ Boone wondered, dropping the football bag and running out into the stadium. Bill Yoast was already there in the stands, intently watching two lone figures running around the field. Boone saw a shock of golden hair, and knew instantly that it was Alan, but he wasn't surprised. Some of the boys stayed after practice sometimes to play a quick pick-up game, and Alan was often among them. But that girl down there with him, that fragile-looking girl with the white-blonde hair trailing after her like the tail of a comet, who was that? " Well I'll be John Brown, " Boone muttered, set on figuring out what was going on, but Yoast reached out to stop him.

            " Let 'em go, Coach, " he said softly. " Just watch. "

            Boone sighed and looked out at the two kids on the field. The girl was clutching the football to her stomach and running like the wind, and Alan was quickly catching up to her. " The girl's a good runner, if that's what you're getting at, " Boone muttered to Yoast. _But surely the boy wasn't thinking of tackling her,_ he thought to himself.

            But he was; she hadn't made it halfway across the field when Alan dragged her to the ground. Boone was about to run for the first-aid kit when he heard them laughing. Laughing, when that little girl had just been tackled by a much larger football player. " What in the name of Sam Hill are those two laughing at? " Boone asked.

            " That's young love for you, Herman, " Yoast said with a bit of a grin on his face. " Call me plumb crazy, but that's the happiest I've ever seen Alan on the field. "

            Boone agreed but refused to show it. " As long as it don't affect the boy's play, it's all right with me. "

            Yoast chuckled and shook his head.

            Alan and Gabrielle lay side to side on the field, laughing hysterically at what seemed to be nothing at all. Alan was first to stop for a moment and catch his breath, and he turned his head towards Gabrielle, the green grass tickling his nose. " You _can_ catch," he said with a grin. " You lied. "

            Gabrielle turned her own head to him and smiled. " I guess I did. But then again, like you said, maybe it's all just a matter of who's throwing it. "

            Alan got to his feet, brushed the dirt off himself, and helped Gabrielle off the ground. " We should do this more often, " he said. " Except not right after football practice. "

            Gabrielle laughed. " I have a better idea. " She grabbed Alan's hand and pulled him close, then tilted her head up to look at him. Alan was mesmerized by her eyes, blue as a noonday sky and sparkling like a million stars. He could feel her warm breath on his face and wondered for a fleeting moment whether she was about to kiss him. Then she broke into a fit of that beautiful bubbly laughter, and Alan was startled. " What? " he asked. " What's so funny? "

            " You, " Gabrielle answered, still laughing.

            " What about me? "

            " Those eyes, " she whispered. " That look you had on your face a second ago. " She smiled at him, then suddenly let him go and stepped back. " I forgot what time it was, " she said, looking up at the rose-hued sky. Then she turned her gaze back to Alan, who had been staring at her, dumbfounded. " When's your next game? "

            " F-Friday, " Alan stuttered in reply.

            Gabrielle winked. " I'm there. And then afterwards, we're getting some dinner. Just you and me. "

            Alan swallowed nervously. " J-just you and me? "

            " Yeah, you heard me. " Gabrielle smiled. " Just the two of us. " With a smile and a wave, she dashed off for home. Alan stood in the middle of the field waving dazedly back at her. Then as soon as she was out of sight he kicked up his heels and practically danced the rest of the way home, feeling like the happiest guy in the world.

            " Alan, where have you been? " Fred Bosley demanded of his son. " You're nearly two hours late from practice. "

            Alan danced up the stairs, then danced back down the stairs and gave his father a hug. " What the devil is going on? " he asked.

            Alan grinned. " I'm just in a good mood. A little hug doesn't hurt, does it? " Then before his father could answer, Alan danced back up the stairs to his room. A few minutes later, music was blaring loudly from up the stairs. Fred shook his head. Maybe that boy had had just a little bit too much football for one day…

            " Alan! Hey! " Ronnie hit Alan over the head with his notebook. " What planet are you on, man? "

            " Planet Gabrielle, " Rev joked, and Alan whirled around in his seat and hit Rev with his own book.

            " That's not funny, " Alan muttered, but his cheeks went beet red. Rev laughed and turned back to his work.

            " So what's up with you and Gabrielle? " Ronnie probed, turning around in his seat to face Alan.

            Alan looked down into his Science book. " I don't know what you're talking about, " he said airily.

            " Alan, the whole team's talking about it! I heard it from Blue, Blue heard it from Lastik, Lastik heard it for Rev, and Rev heard it from Petey – "

            " _Petey?!?! _" Alan exploded. He buried his head in his textbook. _Oh sweet Jesus, what have I done?!_ " I _knew_ I shouldn't have told him anything! "

            " Hey man, calm down. It's not his fault. News just travels fast around here. "

            " Well… " Alan sighed. " I figure if Petey told you, it's been twisted out of proportion. So let me just get the facts straight. We're going out for dinner after the game – _without_ the rest of the team, thank you, I don't need Lastik sneaking food off my plate during a… a date… "

            _A date… _Alan had never been on a date before – at least, not a _real_ date. The occasional outing that would end in separating – very quickly – at the street corner, but not a date. Not a real dinner-for-two drop-me-off-at-my-front-door kiss-me-goodnight date.

            Ronnie grinned as Alan trailed off. " A date. Wow man, great job. " He gave Alan one last hard pat on the back as the bell rang. " Just don't let it screw up your concentration during the game tomorrow, okay? " Ronnie added as he headed out the door.

            _Okay. I gotta let 'em run out a little, then I'll stick 'em when they get nice and comfortable._

_            I wonder where I should take Gabrielle for dinner…_

            Alan couldn't keep his thoughts straight. This was a pretty darn important game he had on his hands here, he wasn't about to let the team down on this one. But how, he wondered, could people expect him to think straight when he had the most important date in his life in less than two hours?

            He tried to shrug the thought off, but it was a little too late; the other team's running back blazed past him, and Alan had little time to re-orient himself; he started slowly after the running back and knew immediately that he had no chance to catch up. He stopped at the one-yard line and caught his breath as the other guy ran in for a touchdown. _Okay Alan, time to get yourself off of Planet Gabrielle and focus on the game…_

_            …I wonder if she likes Italian?_

            " Bosley, you're killin' me out there! " Boone hollered, motioning for Alan to leave the field. Alan couldn't help but hang his head a bit upon taking a seat on the bench, but the comforting pat on the back he received a moment later from Coach Yoast made him feel the slightest bit better. Rev took a seat next to him a minute later. " Pulled again? " he asked.

            Alan nodded. " I don't know what planet I'm on tonight, man. "

            " Gabrielle? " Rev offered teasingly.

            Alan nodded a bit, trying to hide his smile. " Do you think she'd like Italian? " he asked after a while.

            Rev laughed and playfully punched Alan on the arm. " You crazy, man. "


End file.
